Have Nigerian Governors Lost Their Powers?

Nigeria’s most influential political figures are arguably its governors. Every elected president since 1999 has either been a former military head of state or a former governor. Three of the four frontrunners in the 2023 presidential election (Bola Tinubu, Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso) were former two-term governors, and the fourth (Atiku Abubakar) was elected governor but left office before the end of his term to become vice president. Governors have also become influential as party chairs; every elected or appointed chair of Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was a governor. They have played key roles in seminal moments in Nigerian history, such as the doctrine of necessity that elevated Goodluck Jonathan to the acting presidency, pushing back against the naira redesign change, and engaging with the proposed tax reform. Not all these positions are popular or necessarily ‘for the greater good’, but their impact shows this class of citizens’ importance. For better or worse, few groups are as influential and integral to political outcomes as governors.